Prisoners
by Yomico
Summary: Lucy is trapped in the palace because she's a celestial mage and there are only two in all of Fiore. Natsu is trapped in the dungeon because he's a dragon slayer and considered to be a monster. Lucy is always running, while Natsu is always fighting. Both want their freedom, but that never comes easy, especially when your prison holds the answers. (NaLu)
1. Chapter 1

LUCY:

"Yukino! Wait up!" I ran, tripping over the stupid skirt. Feeling the silky fabric tear under my foot, I reached down and ripped out the hanging chuck. It came away easily and I took off again, trying to catch up to my best friend. The setting sun glared into my eyes from behind paned windows, the glass worsening the glare. Her white hair peeked out from behind a column and I took after it, grabbing her hand as she twirled to get away.

"Hey!" She tried to pull away, but my grip was deceptively strong. I didn't spend my days in this golden cage lounging around. While Yukino was the actual princess and I had started out as her maid, the revelation of my magic turned the whole situation around. Now we were both recognized as royal, rich, and snobby.

"Ladies, what are you doing so far from the main palace?" Our bodyguard and personal stalker, August, leader of the Royal Guard, had caught up to us. I immediately went for puppy eyes while he stayed stoic. Quickly giving up, I pushed past him with a sigh and trudged up the marble steps.

"We haven't even left the main building!" Yukino protested as he shepherded her after me.

"My lady, surely you understand the dangers of leaving the palace. There are many people who—" August's calm tone drove me insane.

"Want to use us and our powers. I get it." I shot at him without turning around. Being one of two celestial mages in the entire damn kingdom was such a pain. Yukino always handled the stress of being cooped up day after day better than I did, but she had grown up here. The palace and its luxuries was her home. I belonged back at the village, chasing good-for-nothing boys into the woods when they pulled my hair and learning how to fight with my friends. Helping kids pull of pranks, going to school, and having a freaking relationship that didn't begin and end with responsibility. Having a boyfriend, for god's sake. In the real world, no one assumed you were safe and they made sure that you were prepared for anything. Here at the palace it was like they truly believed they were untouchable. Fools. I was counting off the days before something went horribly wrong with an unnerving sense of excitement.

I'd already written my last wish and everything. I just wanted to see the outside world again. Picking up speed, I pushed through many sets of glossy doors until I got lost, something I enjoyed immensely. I refused to learn the layout of the palace, needing aimless wandering to keep myself in one piece. Usually I went up until the stairs ended, sometimes even making it out onto the roof, but this time I went down. Nothing like an expedition underground to cheer me up. A sharp pain sliced through my chest, making me double over as I tried to steady myself. It was happening more and more often while the pain kept getting worse. I was suspicious of the attacks, since they started when I had first entered the palace, but everyone seemed to have a reference book open each time I tried to squeeze someone for answers. They remained the same, not varying even slightly from guard to guard, like they all had the answers drilled into their brains. Far from making me give up, their consistency only intrigued me.

The more levels I passed, the grimmer the setting grew. Instead of glittering chandeliers and sparkling marble floors I ran past layers of grime and a few small magic candles that were on the verge of breaking in half. Tired of the long skirt and heeled shoes, I paused long enough to rip up the hem of my dress and tossed the white shoes. Running was a gateway to my past life, one that I had enjoyed with people I loved. Maybe some more than most…

Pushing away my memory of a smiling woman, I focused completely on my breathing, lengthening my stride until I was flying through the hallways. My blonde hair flew into my eyes as I skidded around the last corner and came face-to-face with a door. Stars swam around in my eyes as I slammed into the solid metal at full speed, my right hand crunching with a sickening sound as it darted out to cushion my body. I staggered back and unleashed a string of very colorful words, none of which would pass the lady manners test. Not that I took that crap seriously, of course. Turning to inspect the door, I immediately noticed the string of runes lining the top, a soft yellow glow hanging around them. The door was a dull dark grey, no keyhole or lock visible. The only sign of the thing having any use was a hand-shaped indent centered of the surface. If anything, it was a plain slab of metal with a hand-print at the end of a forgotten hallway. However, anything not white, gold, or shiny didn't belong at the palace, no matter how forgotten it was.

Another pang of hurt across my chest. The runes blinked three times, a soft hum filling the silence to accompany my ragged breathing. I narrowed my eyes, my brain turning over the possibilities. I could've been right and the pain was connected to this metal door, or it was nothing. I was willing to bet my magic that I had been right.

Someone's voice echoed through, sending shivers up my spine. August. I glanced at the door with a grimace, silently cursing the stalker's timing. My hand hanging loosely at my side I ran from the door, fully intent on keeping it my little secret. There was absolutely no need to let the guard and the King know about my latest discovery. Taking several wild turns to leave the door in the dust, I ran into August's search patrol and was greeted by a barricade of drawn swords.

August let out a frustrated sigh, taking in my ruined dress and bare feet. "Stand down." He pulled out a small communication lacrima, bringing it up to his bearded mouth. "We found her."

"Good. Bring her up." A dry, raspy voice that I quickly identified as the King's gave the order. So, His Great Majesty had finally had enough of my runs and antics. Oh goody. Firm hands clamped onto my shoulders and pushed me ahead of them, forcing me up the innumerable staircases to the main palace. Taking side passages to keep me from the view of visitors, my presence was announced and I was led through the doors to the King's sitting room. It was an overly fancy room, adorned with countless painting and tapestries. Cushy couches and chairs framed a massive fireplace, casting an orange glow around the room. Yukino sat on a dark red chair with gold trim, her hands folded neatly across her lap and her eyes down. The King sat across from her, his wide body stuffed into another dark red chair, his eyes focused on me with an insulted rage and his mouth forming an impossibly thin line.

"Princess Lucy." His voice was saturated in displeasure and annoyance. I worked really hard to keep a smirk from sliding onto my face.

"Your Majesty." I think I must have sounded amused, because the line that made up his mouth shrank. "I apologize for my antics."

"We both know that is no longer enough!" He shouted at me, spit flying from his mouth. "You apologize, yes, but you will do it again without a second thought!" How'd he guess? "You've been here for five years! Why can't you be more like Yukino?" The white-haired girl visibly flinched, but no one noticed.

That was it for me. I wasn't someone else, so he'd better not expect that from me. "For the last time, I'm not a princess! I didn't grow up surrounded by luxury, everything done for me before I could even have a chance to want for it. I'm used to having to work for a living, dangerous work. I'm not a lady!" I snarled at him, my anger pushing through. I knew it wasn't the smartest choice, considering he was the King and all, but I would deal with the consequences when they came up. He merely sighed and shook his head.

"You are a daughter of the Heartfilia Konzern. You were born to be a lady, so why is it so hard for you to live up to expectations." He sounded genuinely confused. I was seconds away from ripping out his throat.

"I chose to leave that behind because I didn't want to be a lady! I left, you hear me? I. Left!" I screamed. How dare he bring up my past, the one I'd tried so hard to escape. The village had taken me in, no questions asked. When they did find out about my last name and my relation to the Konzern, they simply skipped over that chapter of my life, not letting it define their view of me. I treasured their acceptance, and giving it up was the hardest thing I'd even done. Pushing through the door to the protests of August, I barged through a group of startled guards and ran to my room. It was a million times smaller than Yukino's, as small as they would allow. Which was still big, mind you. I had to beg to have a small room with little adornment, but they gave. Collapsing on the bed, I sobbed my heart out, occasionally punctuating my tears with colorful words and tasteful descriptions of people I hated. When I was satisfied with myself I pushed myself off the squishy mattress and trudged to the bathroom, ripping off the dress as I went. The hand I had crushed had gone unnoticed, which was a shocking surprise, but it also had started to turn red and puff up. Not bothering to call for maids I started the water and dumped a whole bottle of vanilla bubblebath into the tub. I tore apart the last pieces of the corps of a dress and flung them into my room, shutting the door behind them. I found a wooden comb that I'd snuck in from the village despite being told to leave all of my belongings behind and tossed it in the direction of the tub, a satisfying clunk telling me I'd hit my mark. Pulling my ruined hairdo apart, I slipped into the hot water, a short breath escaping me as the water stung on contact. While I waited for the burning feeling to go away I searched the bubble-filled water for the comb, pulling it out and wiping away bubbles. My fingers scratched two words engraved in the wood, their thin coating of silver paint peeling off. They brought back bittersweet memories, threatening me with tears.

An hour of fruitless attacks directed at me tangled hair chilled the water to past lukewarm and I slipped out of the tub shivering. It didn't take me long to find the simple blue dress I used as a nightgown and slip into bed, the comb locked firmly in my grasp and under my pillow. I slid my fingers along the words again, tracing the outline of each letter.

"How I miss you, mama." I murmured softly, letting the silence lull me into sleep.


	2. Chapter 2

NATSU:

The echo of a body slamming into the door kept me alert for an embarrassingly long time, and Gajeel had made sure to point that out.

"Ya scared, Salamander?" he'd sneer in my direction every once in a while, clearly trying to get a reaction. I couldn't really blame him. A cage in the dungeon of a castle isn't the most exciting place to be, but that's exactly where we ended up after the King had found out about our dragon slayer magic. We helped them win a war and this was our thanks, our reward. Spoke volumes about our King, didn't it?

"Shut it, metal face. They never slam into the door, so that wasn't them." I growled at the black shadow that was my comrade.

"Did someone find us?" Wendy's soft voice cut into our upcoming quarrel. We couldn't really tear each other apart, there being a set of indestructible bars between us, but the language we'd throw around always drove her insane. She didn't outright stop us, like Erza would, but rather give us something a little less violent to focus on.

"I hope so. Maybe they'll get us out." Gajeel's dumb hope was unsurprising and expected: we all had it. After spending a good chunck of our lives in constant captivity, anything that could change our situation was more than welcome. Unless it made the situation worse, of course. Laxus had served as our example. After a particularly interesting word choice had left his mouth, directed at our personal tormentor, the blonde dragon slayer had been chained to a wall, limiting his ability to move down to two steps. Our cages weren't much better, being five steps in length diagonally, but at least we didn't have the chain clanking around each time we moved. The small things we'd come to appreciate…

"I doubt it, punk." Laxus' voice had a tired edge to it. "More likely they found someone unwelcome trying to sneak in and bashed their face against the door." The mood became dark so quickly, it pissed me off.

A soft hum filled the room, the calm before the storm. I tensed, steeling myself for the hit. It came suddenly and without warning, like it always did. The magic took the room by storm, a wave of golden light washing over us. The moment it came in contact with our skin it burned us, sending flares of pain throughout our bodies. Being a fire dragon slayer I had no experience with being burnt, but this always felt like I was being burnt alive. The pain ate at us, going away at a teasingly slow rate. When the wave passed we were all flat on the floor, panting, sweat streaming down our faces. The magic wave gathered into a ball at the opposite end of the room, hovering in front of a sun-shaped carving. With a high-pitched whine that ate away at our ears the carving absorbed the ball of magic, its light filling in the outlines of the carving before it vanished with a blink.

"Dammit…" Gajeel sat up, massaging his temples. "Is it just me, or are the hits coming more often?" he grumbled. I agreed with him completely.

"That's the second one today. Are they losing their patience?" Wendy rubbed her shoulder, no doubt the one she fell on. She sounded slightly scared.

"But they haven't told us what they wanted!" I complained, my tone indignant. "Maybe if they just asked—"

"Where are the dragons?" The tormentor's voice cut me off, the question quick and taught. My breath caught as I realized it was the one question we couldn't answer but also the one that bugged them the most.

"Damn you, Natsu." Laxus grumbled, clearly realizing the same thing. It was Wendy who actually answered.

"We don't know. They left us." She spoke flatly, but anyone could see the sea of emotion raging underneath. Unfortunately, as it is in most cases when the truth isn't what they wanted, the tormentor didn't believe her.

"One more time. I can speak slower if you want. Where. Are. The. Dragons?" he dragged out each word like we were a bunch of five-year-olds. Tch.

"She said we don't know, ya little piece of shit. You got any hearing problems?" I muttered just loud enough to be heard. The steely glint in his eyes told me that my comment wasn't appreciated.

"Take him." He pointed a long, jagged finger in my general direction. A pair of guards silently shuffled over and turned on the magic dampeners in the bars of my cage, completely sealing off the magic and, consequently, my strength. It took a gargantuan effort to not fall over. They picked me up like I was a sack of potatoes and hauled me towards the door. Right before they reached the dull metal they took a sharp turn left, revealing a hallway we hadn't noticed. Two metal doors decorated the walls, through one of which I was unceremoniously carried. A set of chains hung off the far wall, facing a pretty display of various weapons and torture devices. Laki would have killed to see this. The guards attached my limp arms and legs to the cuffs and abruptly dropped me, my shoulders wrenching out of their sockets as the chains kept my arms up. The tormentor entered with a sneer on his face and the guards melted into the shadows of a corner with a bow in his direction. He strode over to the weapons display and took his sweet time in choosing his first toy. Selecting a long whip with the end covered in some slimy green stuff, he turned back to me, the cold smile on his face unnerving.

"Let us begin."

LUCY:

I snapped awake to screaming. It wasn't a human scream, no. It had the roar to it that made it inhuman. However, when my eyes opened it faded away, like it was just a dream. I tried to convince myself that it was all part of some nightmare, some cruel reminder of the night my mother was killed, but I couldn't. It was like some part of me knew that it was real and nothing could convince me otherwise. With a long sigh I pulled back the covers with a solid determination to go and run through those underground halls again. Maybe I would even find the door. While I rummaged through the outrageously large closet to find at least a single piece of clothing that wasn't glittery or a dress I heard a faint echo of the same scream. It was cut off very sharply this time rather than slowly fading and my curiosity grew. Giving up on the search for normal clothes, I grabbed a pair of scissors and trimmed the nightgown until it fell just short of my knees. Satisfied with my handiwork, I pulled my hair up into a messy ponytail and slipped out into the eerily quiet hall. I took great care to make no noise with my door and set off in a soundless run, flying through the halls like there was no tomorrow. I used to hate running, but after I became trapped in this glitzy cage it was the only escape I had, so I took to it. Now running was exhilarating, a rare taste of freedom. I taught myself how to run silently so I could get out at night when almost everyone was sleeping. I figured out the night shifts of the guards and which places I should avoid at all cost while keeping up the dumb-bratty-rebellious girl image for the King and his people. Even Yukino didn't know about my nightly excursions: they were my private moments, and mine alone. I was selfish that way. Deal with it.

A sharp pain to my chest was following by another piercing scream, getting louder as I raced down countless stairwells. The marble was icy to my bare feet so I ran faster, minimizing contact with the ground. Three in one day. What were these pangs? No bullshit story about magic detectors would deter me, because it was clear that only Yukino and I could feel the pain. Although, I think I had it worse than she did. I also happened to be the more powerful celestial mage between us. Coincidence, much?

I took the safest route, avoiding any possible confrontations. Finally, the walls began to darken with age-old grime and the floor took on a sticky feel. I felt proud of myself for remembering how to get to the same halls, considering how I had been trying to get lost on my first time. My feet picked up layers of nameless substances as I ran deeper, taking corners and stairs in full stride. The scream rang out again, this time loud enough to make my hands jump up to cover my ears. I'd been right: it was down here. I let my internal compass take over and my feet navigated the way to the door. Right before I shifted my weight to clear the last corner I remembered my hand, throbbing painfully at my side, and tried to slide to a halt. Long story made really short: I failed. Miserably. Crashing into the same dull grey door sent a large dose of choking pain up my arm, almost making me scream. Instead I held my breath, forcing the pain down and away while listening for any sound that would mean my presence had been dully noted. Crisp footfalls on the other side of the door answered the dreaded question and I took off, running for my life. Speeding down the main hall, I searched desperately for any small nook or cranny where I could hide. I found none, but I did find a door to a dusty armory full of weapons so outdated that I had no idea they even existed anymore. I dove behind an extremely cluttered rack and froze, waiting to hear to same clipped steps.

573 seconds later they passed the door to the armory, not even pausing.

7492 seconds later they returned, once again moving past the door without a second of hesitation.

8021 seconds later the screams resumed, becoming more desperate by the minute.

Each had the undertone of a roar, a snarly after-effect that made a home in my ears and refused to move out. By the time the screams stopped I felt like my heart had been torn out of my body over a thousand times, each time more painful. This was no simple issue. Someone was being tortured down here, in the King's castle, and that someone wasn't fully human. That someone had done something terrible enough to be put through the pain, but what could be so horrible that the person should scream like they did? Nothing came to mind except for being accused of siding with dragons, but the punishment for that offense wasn't nearly as extreme. The person could be an actual dragon, which would explain the roar, but what did the dragon do? There had been no tragedies, no news reports, no nothing. Sure, the King's hatred for dragons was universally known, but this was overdoing it, even for him. Or was it? I couldn't give myself a certain answer, and with a slight shock I realized that I had zero reasons to believe the King wouldn't do something like that.

The echo of crisp footsteps signaled the departure of the unknown threat. I slid out from the armory, every single sense on the highest level of alertness. The hall was empty and I set myself a light, soundless run, being overly cautious. If I was caught here, I couldn't count on mercy. Once again I let my feet guide me, running down empty hallways. I found the door quickly, narrowly avoiding another collision. What was it with me and the stupid door?

On a hunch, I placed my hand into the handprint in the metal. A soft hissing sound was followed by a small cloud of dust and the door slid open, its soundlessness very ominous in the dead hallways. The first thing that registered was the sharp smell of blood hanging in the air like a virus, filling every corner with its stench. Somewhere in the darkness ahead a chain clinked, the high notes stirring through the silence. I walked into the room, the door sliding shut behind me. I hoped the night would give me enough cover for this expedition.

Creeping along the passage, I was careful to keep my footsteps soundless. Another slice of pain struck my chest and the door hummed at my back. Someone groaned, a deep, masculine noise. A golden light pulsed and spread around the room in a solid wave, warming me to the point of being uncomfortable when it touched my skin. Low growls and restrained snarls traveled down the corridor, making me freeze. Looks like I wasn't alone in this mini hell-hole.

"Natsu, are you okay?" A girl's voice reached my ears. She was out of breath and in pain, but it was her tone that stumped me. Her concern, her worry for someone else's safety while she was hurt already made it wrong for her to be here. So why was she?

"Y-yeah." Another voice, this one definitely a man. It was barely more than a croak, and I guessed he'd been the one screaming. "You?" Again, his concern for someone else shocked me to the core. These people cared about someone, and yet they were rotting in a dungeon underneath the palace. It was making no sense. I slipped along the passage until the room came into view and I stayed in the shadows to observe. What I saw just plainly scared me.

Four cages, each holding a person. Three men and a girl. The one closest to me had spiky pink hair and his lack of a shirt revealed bleeding gashes littering his chest and arms. One eye had swollen shut. He was leaning against the bars, breathing heavily. In the cage next to him was a girl with long blue hair and large, trusting eyes. She was on the floor, panting. Thin streaks of blood ran from her nose. The last two cages each held a man, one with a long mane of black hair and numerous piercings while the other had unruly blonde hair and a large scar across his right eye. The blonde had a chain attached to a collar sitting around his throat, several restricting his movement. They were also breathing heavily, but more or less in a sitting position. All four of them were so thin, I could count their ribs, even through the shirts of the three who had them.

The one with pink hair took a deep breath through his nose and perked up, turning a hostile gaze in my direction.

"You there. Come out." His voice was suspicious and threatening, the same subtle undertone of a snarl present in each word. I stepped out into the dim light, letting them take in my appearance. All four sets of eyes held unrestrained hatred.

"Who are you?" We asked at the same time, each challenging the other to break the silence first. A passage from my politics class came to mind, something about letting the other party speak first because most peoples saw it as dominating a conversation. I played it safe and waited them out, giving them all the time in the world to make up their minds.


	3. Chapter 3

NATSU:

She stood in a challenging silence, clearly giving us the right of first speech. At least someone knew their diplomacy skills and I had to admire that, despite having ignored them myself for my entire life. I kept sizing her up, reluctant to start a conversation. She looked harmless enough, with pale creamy skin and large soft brown eyes that held a hidden layer of pain and strength she tried to hide. Most of her silky blonde hair was pulled back in a low ponytail, but several strands hung loosely around her face. She had delicate features, nothing too broad or sharp. She was beautiful.

Then there was the matter of her clothes. The dress had been longer but the bottom had been deliberately shredded by something sharp, probably scissors or a knife, and now fell just above her knees. Two long cuts went up its sides, allowing her freedom of movement. Her feet were bare and covered in dirt. Her stance was alert, heels barely touching the ground. This girl was ready to fight or run, something we didn't see in the typical bastards that came down here.

I breathed in her scent again, an uncomfortable sweet mixture that didn't suit her current image. Fake strawberries, most likely from soap, and the stench of polished metal. My best guess? This girl was from the palace, sent in this state to distract us or give us false hope. Strangely, I couldn't smell anything relating to the outside on her, like I could on the tormentor. Has she ever been outside?

The others were looking at me, waiting for my first move. I met her eyes and pulled out my dragon gaze, where my pupils shrink and the iris becomes a flickering orange. I pulled back my lips enough for her to glimpse my inhumanly sharp canines. She didn't flinch or back off, but rather a renewed sense of determination entered her gaze. She passed the first test.

"Was it you?" She broke the silence with a question aimed directly at me. The surprise must've shown on my face because she shrugged. "Sorry for breaking the entire first-speech thing and all, but I came down here because I heard screaming. You look like you got dragged through hell backwards, so I'm guessing it was you." Her matter-of-a-fact tone made it clear that she wasn't expecting an answer.

"Anyways, I'm Lucy, unofficial prisoner of asshole King and a rebellious, good-for-nothing impostor princess. Nice to meet you." Her voice was warm and friendly, matching her eyes. She gave a cheery wave as she turned around to leave. She seemed to get that we weren't going to talk to her and she respected our decision, something no one here had ever done. Pausing at the edge of the shadows, she shook her head and kept going until she was swallowed by the darkness. We heard a dull thud, signifying the closing of the door.

"What d'ya think, Salamander?" Gajeel's asked, his rough voice practically bleeding suspicion. "Cute little thing, eh?"

"Yeah…" It left my mouth before I realized it. Laxus snorted and Wendy giggled as I clamped my hands over my mouth, a hot blush running up the back of my neck. Gajeel's eyes widened in disbelief. "N-not like that! She's just, um—"

"A cute little thing?" Laxus drawled.

I shook my head in protest. "No! I meant she's interesting!"

"Oh? Interesting how?" Gajeel was having the time of his life. If not for this stupid cage, I would've beaten some sense into him long ago. Instead I was reduced to simply giving him death glares while he snorted his ass off. If looks could kill…

"Salamander's right." Laxus came to my rescue, which was a first. "She's obviously from a rich family and most likely living in the palace, but her dress was deliberately cut up. She probably did it herself. Her feet were dirty and she wasn't shaking them to try and clean 'em off. She also had no shoes. How often do you see rich girls walking around without shoes?"

"She called herself an impostor princess. She could be one of the two princesses, but why would a princess come down here?" Wendy shook her head in confusion. "If she comes again we'll have to ask her."

"If we ask her she'll ask something too, squirt." Gajeel grumbled. "Information exchange is never one-sided." I shifted my position, wincing as my cuts stretched and pain flared to life. The bastard had decided that a poisoned whip wasn't enough, and by the end he'd sent so many waves of the golden magic through me I was surprised I was still alive.

"How did she hear me?" I muttered, getting the question out in the open. Wendy trained worried eyes on me, hearing the pain on my voice. "If she'd heard because I was so loud, your ears should've been blasted off." They nodded, picking up on my concern. Dragon slayer hearing was far more sensitive than regular human hearing. There was no way she would've heard my screams all the way in the main palace without my friends' ear bleeding to death from overload.

"I dunno. Don't overthink it, your brain might explode." Gajeel smirked at me before stretching out on the stone floor, his hands under his head. Laxus stayed a brooding shadow and Wendy shook her head sadly. I grimaced. This girl was making no sense, and it was looking like we'd have to ask her.

LUCY:

I stuck my frozen and grimy feet into the tub, cursing when the relatively warm water began to sting. While braving the water I searched the room for a place to dump the ruined nightgown and avoid relentless questions. Finding nothing, I pulled out the scissors again and carefully cut a clean line above my previous attacks, shortening the nightgown to barely past mid-thigh. I could say I wanted a shorter dress.

It had been hard for my curiosity to leave so soon, but I'd already broken the rule of first speech. Most would count that as an insult. By leaving I'd given them time to decide what they thought of me, which hopefully made up for my initial blunder. I sighed in exasperation, the complexities of diplomatic rules slowly driving me mad.

When I was finally able to scrub off the sticky gunk my feet had picked up I hauled them out of the tub and trudged over to the bed, falling face-first into a fluffy pillow. Pulling the unnecessarily thick blanket up to my chin, I fell asleep with an image of a pink-haired dragon glued to the insides of my closed eyes.

"Lucy!" A sharp slap of sunlight hit my closed eyes. I groaned and turned over, burying my face in the pillow. So. Not. A. Morning. Person. "Wake up! You'll be late for breakfast with the King!" The maid acted like it was such an honor, watching the King stuff his face. With another groan I picked myself up, knowing but hating the fact that being a problem wasn't going to help anyone, especially me. With a disappointed tisk, the maid took in my shortened nightgown and stode over to my gargantuan closet.

"What did your dress do to you this time, princess?" She called, her voice muffled.

I rubbed my eyes, last night's event coming back to me. "It was hot, so I trimmed it." I called back, desperately hoping my excuse would satisfy her. She sighed in annoyance and came out with a monster of a dress. Pulling me out of bed and shoving my unmoving legs in the direction of the shower, she set off on another mission to find shoes and jewelry. I made the water cold so it would wake me up, letting me stay alert for any probing questions that would be thrown my way at breakfast. When I was done the maid helped me with the dress and ridiculous amount of jewelry before moving on to conquer my hair and make it presentable. I couldn't breathe in the damn dress, let alone walk.

"Something special happening today?" I wheezed out, struggling to push the words through the extremely tight dress. The maid glanced at me in sympathy before loosening the corset just enough for me to talk without having a fit. I sighed in thanks and let her finish creating some weird masterpiece on my head.

"Nothing new, princess." She told me cheerfully while topping off her creation with a garden's worth of plastic flowers. I had to suppress a groan of frustration: all this torture for nothing. Letting my mind wander as plastic stems scraped my head I found myself thinking about the man in the dungeon. The way his eyes had lit up with a challenging fire, his inhumanly sharp canines, his unusual pink hair. The way he hadn't expected me to ask if he was the one who screamed. Hadn't expected me to care. I must've drifted off because I was brought back to reality with firm taps on my shoulder and a teasing gaze.

"Daydreaming again, princess? Who is it this time?" she teased. I felt my cheeks heat up at her question and she giggled lightly, knowing I wouldn't take offense. The first time she'd caught me daydreaming was on my second week at the palace, after I'd met this really hot prince at some party. He was all I could think about until I actually talked to him and discovered his amazing ability at being a snobby douchbag. My maid had teased me about him for days on end. "Let's hope he's better than that one, hm?" she said kindly and I relaxed, knowing she wouldn't press the matter any further. I followed her from my room, grabbing my keyring before I left and hiding it within the endless folds of my dress. I kept my spirits a secret from the King, and so far five years had passed with him thinking the two keys Yukino had were the only ones in his fat little fingers.

Sitting at the dining table and waiting for the King to grace us with his presence, I turned over what I knew about the people in the cages. The golden wave of magic had obviously hurt them more than it did me, judging by the snarls I heard and how they looked exhausted when I saw them. I was certain that the one with pink hair was at least half-dragon, which partially explained why he was down there. The King's hatred for dragons was universally known, and on several public appearances he had proclaimed them to be the ultimate enemy and vowed to destroy them.

"Announcing His Majesty, King of Fiore!" A speaker screamed and the guards all perked up. A large set of gleaming double doors slid open and the King strode in, accompanied by a barrage of various administrators and advisors. He shoed them all away and plopped down in his chair at the head of the table. The silence that followed always drove me mad as the whole world waited for the damn King to say something boring.

"Good morning, ladies." He greeted us like a wall of bricks. We mumbled our own good mornings and the three of us took to the overstuffed table, servants uncovering plates and moving food at the King and Yukino's requests. Ignoring criticizing stares from everyone else I took care of my own food, slamming down lids and half-rising from the chair to reach over the table. I made it a point to be unmannered and rude.

"How was your night, princess Lucy?" The King shot a pointed question in my general direction, not bothering to address me with eye contact or any of that stuff. I returned to my chair after a successful mission to get some sausages and swallowed a rather large chunk to answer.

"Terrible. I awoke to the sound of screams and couldn't fall asleep until the sun had begun to rise." Not a complete lie, but definitely not the truth. If my manipulation plan worked, the man in the dungeon wouldn't get beaten up as much. I'd toyed with the King successfully several times in the past, since he only saw the simplest solution. In this case, stop the torture. Right on cue, a dark look crossed his face.

"I didn't hear anything." Yukino piped up from her side of the table. I smiled inwardly. Just what I needed.

"Well, I am a very light sleeper." I said as politely as possible. The King grimaced motioned August over and whispered something in the Guard's ear. I caught, "stop" and "another way" from his urgent mutter, and when August pulled away he looked less than happy. With a short bow to the King he left the room, his black cape billowing behind him. I crossed my feet under the table and prayed that my plan work.

NATSU:

When the tormentor came in again, he wasn't happy. Actually, who am I kidding. He was pissed. Stomping up to my cage he slammed the magic drainers on and within seconds I could barely keep myself upright. A dark scowl sat on his face and his eyes brimmed with fury.

"Think if you scream loud enough, someone will hear you?" He snarled. "Well, since I can't have you screaming like that, I'll just starve you until you answer." Walking to the other cages he flicked on every magic drainer he could, completely stripping us of energy. After punching a dent in the wall to vent his anger he left, leaving the magic drainers on. Apparently he wasn't going to torture me for answers, or anyone else. Was this the girl's doing? A mixed blessing, I guess. I forced my eyes to look at my friends, all passed out of the floor of their cells. My own body quickly gave up and shut me down, desperately trying to make enough magic to keep me alive.

LUCY:

I had to haul myself through my classes. They were so damn boring! Etiquette I plainly slept through, as well as anything involving politics or government. In my dreams I kept seeing the pink-haired man with blood dripping down his body, his eyes lit with a raging fire. When we came to history, though, a golden opportunity made itself known.

I was assigned a project on the structure of the palace. Finding a pitiful amount of maps and directories on the layout of the castle, for the first time since I'd come here I made it a point to memorize the endless number of hallways and passages. Strangely, there was nothing that even resembled the layout of the underground hallways where I'd found the dungeon. My interest piqued, I asked August if he knew where I could find a map of the halls where he'd found me after my run but the Guard turned my request down with a firm no. Acting disappointed, I raked the shelves of the palace library and eventually found an age-old book that was falling apart at the seams. It also happened to have a detailed history of reconstructions and additions done to the palace. Flipping through to the end, I found the section about defensive additions and hunted for the right page, my eyes landing on a paragraph in an extremely small font.

 _"_ _The original castle had been sacked many times, so a secret passage were constructed to allow easy access to hidden rooms and, eventually, outside the palace walls. The exact location of the passage has been forgotten over the years, but rumors suggest it to be located in the basement halls."_

I nearly squealed. Shoving the book back and pasting a disgusted look on my face, I ran back to my desk and started to flip through the pages of a book about modern architecture. Completely separate from my hands, my brain was shifting through possibilities of escape. All I had to do was find the passage.


	4. Chapter 4

LUCY:

That night I was feeling rather feisty, so after dinner I ripped up my dress and robbed the palace kitchen. Altogether, it wasn't that hard to do, considering the guards could be bribed with a pie or two and the head cook always left the door unlocked. Slipping through, I quickly snatched whatever came loose quickly and took off running, my armload of goods not weighing me down in the slightest. I thought about the pink-haired man and his companions, how thin they were, and before I knew it my feet were bare and running through the same layers of grime they had the previous night. Maybe we could actually have a conversation this time.

I almost collided with the door, barely stopping in time. Slipping my hand into the print, I let the door slide open before walking in, taking small and quiet steps. If anyone else was here, I didn't want to face them. Thankfully the room was silent. Too silent. A new panic began to infect me, a worry that he might not be here anymore. Staying in the shadows out of instinct, I slid past the last corner and lifted a hand to my mouth to stifle the gasp that escaped.

They were all on the floor, passed out cold. Sweat glistened on their bodies, giving them a sickly sheen. The girl had blood streaming from her nose and pooling under her cheek. The blonde's collar was cutting into his skin, more blood seeping out and dripping onto the floor. The one with the mane of black hair had his face smushed against the bars, a bruise forming above his brow. The pink-haired man was the worst, all of his gashes bleeding to create a large puddle of blood. The skin on left side of his perfectly sculpted abdomen had turned grey and was covered in ragged white lines, most likely from the poison. Their breaths were quick and shallow, desperate. I immediately recognized the signs for magic deficiency and my brain went into overdrive, scrambling for a cause and solution. At the edge of my vision a streak of white flickered along one of the bars and the pieces snapped together, forming a terrible image. Someone had left the magic drainers on. I didn't know how long they'd been like this, but any longer and their bodies might just give up and shut them down, becoming comatose to preserve magic. My eyes scanned the room, landing on a set of four sliders busy decorating the far wall. Running over I slammed each slider off and a quiet hiss told me the drainers had powered off. I looked at them, still out, but with each breath growing deeper and steadier. I breathed out my own sigh of relief, cut short by a slice of pain in my chest. This one had me doubling over, trying very hard to not scream. My stolen goods dropped to the floor with a variety of sounds. A soft hum echoed through the room and I remembered the golden magic wave. I knew it hurt these people.

I also knew that in their current state they might not wake up if they took another hit.

Running to the door since I figured it was the source, I tried to pull the magic wave in towards me. To my surprise, it actually worked, but not at all how I thought it would. The golden light shot at me with an unexpected speed and when it hit I felt like I was burning. My vision was swallowed up in flames, the wave spreading through every part of my body and roasting me from the inside. Any pain I'd ever felt before was insignificant compared to this. I wanted to scream but couldn't, my lungs melting into useless globs. Then the pain gathered in my chest, pounding until I thought my ribs would pop out. My knees buckled and I dropped to the floor, sweat pouring down my face. I clenched my teeth tightly, desperately probing for a way out of the pain.

"Focus on my voice." His words barely made it through the sea of pain that I was drowning in. I tried to zero in on his voice, just like he'd asked, but found that it was practically impossible. Something warm grabbed my wrist. "Look at me." I forced my head to the side until I could meet his gaze. A pair of flaming irises locked onto mine, holding them captive. His pink hair fell across his face in a spiky mess. Why was his hair pink, of all colors? He had moved until he was right at the bars, his hand stretched through them and his fingers wrapped around my wrist. Why was his hand so warm? As my thoughts shifted onto his weirdness I found the pain ebbing away, leaving nothing but a dull ache. He was exhausted, I could see that in his eyes, yet he still found the energy to help me. Again, the million-jewel question: why were they down here?

"You good?" he asked. I nodded numbly and he grinned. Pulling his hand back, he grabbed the bars and used them to pull himself up into a semi-sitting position. Leaning heavily against the black metal, he focus his eyes on me again. "Why'd you do that?"

I could only stare at him. "Do what?"

His lips curved into something resembling a smile. "Take on the entire wave. Thanks, by the way." His eyes traveled down and landed on the food I'd stolen. I followed his line of sight and picked out a box of chicken, still warm, and handed it to him. He took it rather uncertainly, but when he cracked open the lid he inhaled the entire thing like there was no tomorrow. I gave him the rest of my stolen fare and watched in awe as he literally sucked up some things and set others aside, particularly anything with meat. When he finished going through the collection he wiped his mouth and looked at me. "So, why'd you do it?"

I was startled a bit by his sudden leap from eating to questioning. "Uh, well, um…" He tilted his head to one side, waiting me out. "Well, last time you guys didn't take it so well and after being nearly killed by magic deficiency I figured you might not live through another hit, so I took it. Didn't expect the pain, though." I added with a sigh. His eyes widened slightly before he chuckled.

"You know you're weird, right?" he asked, a large grin spreading across his face.

"Says the guy with pink hair!" I retorted, my voice becoming indignant. He brushed a hand through the spiky mess I'd accused.

"At least it's natural. You're the princess who tears up her dresses and save prisoners from pain." He tapped his chin, pretending to think. "Oh, and you also bring food to prisoners condemned to starvation."

I felt my eyes widen as he mentioned his various problems that I was interfering with. "Starvation? You guys wouldn't last a day!"

"That's the point. They think it'll make us desperate enough to answer." He seemed to darken at the mention of the answer to whatever question.

"What's the question?" I asked, my curiosity spiking again.

"I'll tell you if you answer one of mine." He was playing with me, testing my limits. I shrugged, knowing that I had nothing to hide.

"Sure. You go first." I shifted my position to a more comfortable one, not caring that I was on the floor. He looked at me with a confused expression before asking.

"What's your deal?" His voice was flat, like he was expecting no answer or, even worse, a lie. I puffed out my cheeks and slid my hand through my hair, my fingers getting stuck in a tangle halfway down.

"That's a very general question." I muttered and he grinned. Throwing him a glare did nothing but make him snort. I sighed and arranged my thoughts. "Let's see… Well, I'm the sole heir to the Heartfilia Konzern, but I ran away after my mother died and my father drowned himself in his work. I'm not cut out for being a lady. If you could've seen what I did to my dresses back then…" I drifted off, remembering that one time I dropped a particularly beautiful gown that I didn't like into the oven and it burned down half the kitchen. Snapping out of the pleasant throwback, I kept going. "I was taken in by a small village, where I had a decent life. It wasn't posh but it was perfect. I collected more keys to add to the two I already had. The Royal Guard found me when I summoned the Water Spirit, Aquarius, to help defend the village from pirates. Since I was a one-in-a-gazillion celestial mage, I was taken to this shiny cage they call a palace and I haven't been outside since. Long story made short, the King made me his second princess and I have been a thorn in his side for the entire length of my stay." I looked at him. "My turn. What's the question?" He seemed to be slightly thrown off by the sudden end to my dramatic story-of-my-life.

"They want to know where the dragons are." He muttered, a dangerous snarl lining his words. It was my turn to be shocked.

"Are you half-dragon?" I asked. He tilted his head to the side before laughing, a loud and joyous sound that warmer me to my very core.

"I wish! Although, being a dragon slayer isn't that far off." He grinned, his smile so infectious that it had my own lips curving up.

"Dragon slayer, huh? Sound so cool…" My voice sounded far off, like I was already lost in my head. He chuckled.

"Aside from being seen as a monster, it's great."

"Are you a monster?"

"No!"

"Then what does it matter what they see?" I could tell that the title the King had given him had been weighing him down. He paused, looking at me with his steady gaze. I stared right back, reveling in the contest.

"I guess it doesn't." He murmured softly. With a small smile I stood and walked over to the sliders, feeling his gaze on my back. I tore apart the magic flow that powered the drainers and replaced the slider panel.

"What did you do?" He asked, his curiosity showing in his voice.

"I messed with the drainers so that I wouldn't have to turn them on. It happens sometimes in the main palace and takes ages to repair, so it should save you guys some pain." I smiled slyly and picked up the empty food containers. "I do enjoy messing with the King. See you tomorrow!" With a cheerful wave I slipped back into the shadows and ran back up to the main palace. I stuffed the boxes into my fireplace, watching the wood slowly burn into smoke and ashes. Pleased with the night's work I took a bath and tore the dress into oblivion to cover up my trip. My thoughts kept drifting back to the pink-haired man. For some strange reason I felt drawn to him, and I felt safe. Safety was a feeling I hadn't had in a very long time, not since my mother dies. I shook my head as his casual remark about dragon slayers being seen as monsters floated up. Regardless of what he said, I could see that none of them were monsters. Not even a little bit.

Drying myself off, I walked over to my desk and pulled out a fresh stack of paper. I began recalling my run through the underground halls and sketched it onto the paper, creating the beginnings of a map. Tomorrow I would explore a little bit to expand my knowledge of the halls. If I found the passage, I could help the dragon slayer and his friends escape. After all, they definitely didn't belong down there.


	5. Chapter 5

**LUCY:**

His Majesty the King ruined my plans completely and without remorse. After a particularly grueling politics class where we had to memorize the entire damn rule book of Fiore, he not-so-subtly requested that we meet him for lunch. Usually I ate lunch wherever while Yukino ate with the King in the dining room. This time I was required to join them, an experience I would gladly avoid all together.

My cheek slipped down my hand as I stared out the window, thoroughly ignoring the lesson on the proper way to greet foreigners. My mind was fastened on the underground halls, running over the layout I had so far. Two stairs down, a turn left, ignore three halls to the right before…

"Princess!" A hand covered in thick rings landed on my desk with a solid clang. I looked up to see the teacher glaring at me over the rims of her tiny glasses. With a sigh I adjusted my posture, straightening out my back and squaring my shoulders. Satisfied that I was once again part of the class, the lady resumed her demonstrations.

I immediately tuned her out and resumed my mental wandering of the halls. I finally got a decent route cemented in my brains and the moment the lady dismissed us from the torture called foreign relations I took off at a neck-breaking run. Sure, I couldn't really get around meeting the King for lunch, but at least I could check those books again before I had to endure the presence of his royal ego.

Slipping into the library, I poured over the same tomes, finding only vague mentions of the passage. August came storming in twenty minutes later, face as red as the tomato I squished during breakfast. I gave him an exaggerated curtsy and calmly listened through his barely understandable temper tantrum before sweeping past him and slowly walking to the dining hall. Surprise, surprise, the King was already there and his fuse was running short.

"Princess Lucy, what is your problem?" He was close to snarling, but I though it sounded pretty pathetic. It was absolutely nothing compared to the snarls I'd heard last night.

"I don't have one. I was doing extra research for my history project." I replied sweetly. The King blinked, momentarily stunned at my unexpected response. I never studied, much less did extra work, unless the topic fit my definition of useful. History was not on my list. My eyes were itching to spin a three sixty. How stupid could this prick be?

"Oh, well, then I suppose you are fine." His Stupidness said with a slight stutter. I gave him an innocent as-can-be smile and he kept going with his announcement. "We have decided it's about time for you ladies to be brought into the main workings. Next week you will attend a trial and the next day you will lead a trial. A prisoner will be brought up and you will judge accordingly. Throughout the week, you will read about several trials, both those that had gone smoothly and those that did not, and you will lead improvised scenario trials. It is in your best interests to focus during this time, Princess Lucy especially." He finished and stood. "Until next week, ladies." With that, he left. I was having a hard time processing this latest development. My mind kept jumping around the worst-case scenarios, most which involved the King killing me. I was, after all, a celestial mage with no known keys and therefore no purpose. It wouldn't be that much of a problem if he just got rid of me, and a trial was the perfect place to call me out for treason – or being a nuisance. Whichever one pleased him.

With a strangled sigh, I left the dining hall and ran wherever my feet decided to go. This time, they took me through a maze of halls on the ground floor that led to a dead end, which I did not notice in time. Resigning myself to another evening with a swollen wrist, I tried to slide to a stop but my hand, instead of painfully colliding with the wall, simply passed through as if there was nothing there. I froze, my arm still ending with a slab of stone, and before I could overanalyze the situation I walked the rest of the way and fell into a crumpled heap when the floor vanished beneath my feet. My magic was being pulled out my body at a very dangerous rate and my vision was beginning to swim. My right ankle was a painful mess. I forced my head up to see an enormous emerald and gold gate towering over me, taking up most of the far wall. A deadly aura of intense magic surrounded it and pulled my own magic towards with a pain that was far too familiar. Before I could connect the dots, my brain very conveniently shut down.

 **NATSU:**

"Are you sure about her?" Gajeel muttered for the umpteenth time. I sent him a dark look and he responded by tearing into his piece of chicken. After the girl had left, I impatiently waited for the others to wake up before quickly distributing the food she'd brought. We managed to stow away the goods and feign unconsciousness before the bastards came in, all suffering a collective shock when they saw the "fried" lacrima circuits. The headman was the least impressed. He'd hissed at his inferiors to get them fixed as soon as possible, to which they replied that it would take weeks. He then turned to us and decided that we had been smiling, which wasn't true, before demanding that someone bring his manual magic nullifier. That little piece of wonder turned out to be a black and silver stick that we all learned to hate. He zapped us all before taking Gajeel and me into the torture room to vent his frustration. Here we were, ages later, both nursing cuts and bruises of various dimensions and me unable to rip his head off for being a general pain in the ass.

"If you don't believe him, wait and see for yourself and shut yer trap." Laxus growled from his sulky corner. Gajeel made a face, but he didn't ask again.

"I want to meet her." Wendy said softly. "Why didn't you ask her name?"

"Cause you guys were asleep. We're all here together, so it's not right for one person to decide when to trust someone else." I replied with a grin. She returned the smile right as a dull thud echoed through the room. We all immediately shut up and stared at the darkness that marked the exit. Our advanced smell and hearing were rendered useless by the stupid bars, and I hated not knowing who the newcomer was. The smallest strand of blonde hair slipped out of the shadows and I let myself relax slightly. It was her.

"You look terrible." Her voice rang out a moment before she stepped into the light, gentle and teasing. I did a double-take on her appearance. Her blonde hair was pulled back into a messy ponytail, most of the strands cascading down around her face. Her dress, a thing that bore resemblance to a fitted hospital gown, was missing both sleeves and the skirt ended in a jagged, dirt-stained edge. It was her face that had me worried. Her skin seemed several shades too pale, sharply defining dark circles under her eyes and the long cut on the left side of her face. Her brown eyes were barely alive, a complete change from the last two times I'd seen her. They had managed to lose the warmth and kindness, both replaced by a haunted look.

"So do you." I pointed out. She rolled her eyes and offered a tired smile.

"I bet I look better than you do." She looked at my friends. "Hi!"

"Hello." Wendy was the only one who replied. Gajeel eyed the girl suspiciously and Laxus kept brooding. That's all he ever did.

"I guess they're the silent types, eh?" The girl met Wendy's eyes and the smile became just a bit wider. Wendy nodded with a small smirk. "Oh, by the way, I'm Lucy. Lucy Heartfilia. You guys don't have to tell me your names."

"Ok." Wendy smiled. "It's nice to meet you, Lucy."

"You too. Here, I brought food. Sorry about the lack of meat, but I had to use it to bribe the guards. Turned out they felt underfed." Her voice was dripping disgust by the end and she swung a shoulder bag to the front. The strap was small enough to blend in completely with the dress. Her fingers fumbled with the straps for a few seconds, muttering under her breath about stupid zippers. Out of the bag came four boxes, which she handed out one per person. I cracked the lid open on mine and the scent of roast duck hit my nose, accompanied with grilled vegetables. I noticed the Gajeel and Laxus had left theirs untouched while Wendy was already halfway through her piece of duck, pausing every few bites to lick her lips. Lucy sat with her back against the wall and straightened her right leg in front of her. Suddenly, she slapped her hand on the floor and dug her hands into the bag. I was finishing off the duck when a small box landed on the floor of my cage.

"What's this?" I asked, reaching for the box.

"Torch matches." She said. I pulled one out an examined it. "You're a fire dragon slayer, right? I figured you'd like to eat fire, so yeah." Her hands ran through her hair and she let out a long breath. "Damn bastard. He just had to turn around, did he?"

Gajeel snorted. "Who pissed ya off, bunny girl?"

"Oi! Wait – bunny girl?" Lucy couldn't decide between glaring and laughing.

"Eh. Lucy's too long." Gajeel replied with a shrug.

"How, exactly, is 'bunny girl' shorter than Lucy?" Lucy settled on frowning. A tiny bit of life was coming back into her eyes. "You know what? I give up." She slid her right leg back towards her chest and visibly winced.

"So who pissed ya off?" Gajeel kept going, ignoring her muttering outburst over his name logic.

"The guard. I was robbing the kitchen when he came in, so I hid, but then I saw the matches and tried to get them right as he turned around. I had to hand over three pies to keep his mouth shut. They wouldn't dare admit that they let me go – it would cost them their job." Lucy's hand was massaging her ankle and every few minutes she would suppress a wince. Gajeel stared at her for a few seconds before slowly going for his food box. Didn't take him long to start on the duck.

"How did you know I was a fire dragon slayer?" I asked her, my mouth stuffed with the grilled vegetables and my speech slightly mushed up. She shot me a patronizing look before replying.

"When you challenged me on our first meeting, your eyes lit up with fire. Kinda hard to _not_ figure out what type of magic you use." She drawled. "Try out the matches. If you like the taste, I'll bring more next time."

I pulled one out and struck the red tip against the side of the box. It lit up in a massive flame, beating the measly torches of our cell. I swallowed the fire and its warmth filled me up, restoring my recently drained magic.

"It's good." I lit up three more and leaned back in content. "Can you bring some iron next time too?"

She didn't even blink twice at me request. "Sure."

"Thanks for the food." Wendy said quietly, receiving a nod from Lucy in reply. She slowly pushed herself up, using the wall for support and brushing her blonde hair out of her eyes.

"What happened to you?" I asked her, my curiosity finally winning.

"I can't remember, actually. I was running, and then I woke up in the hospital wing. I can't recall anything between those two moments, but I know I found something. That's it." She rubbed her face and limped over. "Give me your boxes. I'll burn them so that they will still think you aren't fed at all." We handed over the boxes.

Lucy was stuffing them into her bag when I heard Wendy whisper my name. I turned to face her and her eyes went from me to Lucy and back. Getting her message, I turned to Gajeel, who shrugged, and Laxus, who gave the tiniest nod, before grinning at Wendy and calling out to Lucy right before she slipped into the shadows.

"The name's Natsu." She spun around in surprise. "He's Gajeel, she's Wendy, and sulky over there is Laxus." I pointed to each person for clarification. Laxus growled threateningly, but I ignored him.

"Nice to meet you." Lucy grinned and left, the door sliding shut behind her.


End file.
